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Women's Tennis Mike Bello, Asst. SID

Spartans Grab Late-Night 4-3 Win over N.C. A&T

Box Score

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Finishing sometime after midnight, the late night proved to be well worth it for the Norfolk State women's tennis team as the Spartans downed North Carolina A&T, 4-3, late Friday night in a conference match at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center.

Despite forfeiting the No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles matches, the Spartans won four of the five contested singles matches to get the victory. NSU improved its record to 1-3 overall, 1-0 in MEAC play, while A&T fell to 2-7, 1-1.

Freshman Laura Gutierrez helped clinch the win for the Spartans with a big win at No. 1 singles, overcoming a second-set loss to help NSU finally pull out the win at approximately 12:30 a.m. Gutierrez downed Cayla Cross, 6-2, in the first set, before Cross won the second-set, 7-6, thanks to a 7-5 tiebreaker triumph. Gutierrez did not back down and finished with a third-set victory, 6-4.

Fellow freshman Kia Batiste also earned a three-set victory in her singles match to help the Spartans clinch the win. Batiste dropped the first set to Victorea Austin, 6-4, at No. 5 singles before rallying to win the next two sets convincingly, 6-2, 6-1.

NSU also picked up victories at the second and third singles positions, with senior Naeemah Brooks downing Azeib Nigatu, 6-3, 6-3, at the No. 2 spot. Junior Rebecca Graff faced Kenya Colbert at the third slot, where she won the first set, 6-2, followed by a 7-6 win in the second set, including a 7-4 tiebreaker victory.

Graff and Brooks also won at No. 1 doubles, 8-3, over Colbert and Nianna Henry. Gutierrez and freshman Maryna Kariuk fell at the second doubles position, 8-5, to Cross and Nigatu, and that win combined with NSU's forfeit at the third doubles position gave the Aggies an early 1-0 lead with the doubles point.

Kariuk also dropped her singles match by a 6-0, 6-0 score to Kimberly Stalling at the No. 4 position. The Aggies earned a point for their forfeit win at the sixth singles slot because of NSU's five-player roster.

NSU will turn right around and play at Winston-Salem State Saturday at 11 a.m.
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